Earthly Possessions
by jkan
Summary: Kidnapped by a deadly assassin, Aeris is forced to make a choice: be a pawn in his plans or die. SephirothAeris/Rufus
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: This fic, and the characters, are a little...darker (?) than what I normally write, but I wanted to bring out a"human-ness" to the characters, more of what a real person would say and do (and react) to their situations than what we're used to seeing from Aeris, Sephiroth and Rufus. So some may like it, some may not, but please R&R to give me your feedback!

* * *

1

She caught his attention the moment he walked into the café.

It was those eyes. Dark earthy green eyes that seemed to take on a life of their own.

Her hair hung loosely around her, framing a small heart-shaped face. Full lips. Long charcoal eyelashes.

But those eyes.

It was very rare that a woman would take his attention away from the business at hand, which in this case was the president of a mining company near Kalm. He was droning on about the importance of a unionized work force and how it would affect the productivity of his company, but it fell on deaf ears. All he could do was admire the lithe brunette that was sitting in a corner booth, sipping on her drink and browsing through the newspaper.

"Wouldn't you agree, President Shinra?"

Rufus shook his head, sending a few locks of blonde hair onto his forehead. "Certainly, Mr. Takai. Come, have a seat."

The portly mining president slumped into a chair, producing a handkerchief and patting his brow. "Unsightly weather in Midgar."

"Yes, it has been unusually warm this spring." Rufus Shinra pulled out a chair across from Mr. Takai and motioned to one of his awaiting bodyguards. "Please get Mr. Takai an iced tea."

"And for you, President?" A stout man in a blue suit leaned over to hear the blond man's request.

"Coffee. Black." He pulled the bodyguard's sleeve with the first two fingers of his hand. "And whatever that girl is having, buy her another one." He motioned to the gem-eyed girl across the empty café.

"So where is Mr. Reeve? I thought he would be here to talk about the possibility of a joint venture." Mr. Takai stuffed the wilted handkerchief back in the breast pocket of his linen suit.

Rufus glanced at his watch and smiled. "He should be here shortly, I wouldn't dream of having this conversation without him."

"Yes, yes. We all know he's your 'right hand man'. That cunning fox."

"It pays to have good people on your side."

Mr. Takai drank deeply from his iced tea. "Speak of the devil."

A thin man with dark features walked into the café, giving the two men a slight bow. "I'm sorry for making you wait, there was an issue at the office that required my attention." He shook hands with the obese mining president.

Rufus stood, smoothing out his black suit jacket while motioning to a chair. "When _isn't_ there an issue at the office?" A humorless smile crept onto his lips.

Mr. Takai nearly bubbled with excitement. "Well then, looks like we can get onto business, eh? Now, I want to talk to you both about…"

The blonde man tuned out the chatter, it was Reeve's job to listen and discern whether it was a good business venture for the Shinra Corporation; the company didn't pay for his business and law school education for nothing. Instead, his attention drifted over to the pretty girl who was now engulfed with the newspaper's crossword puzzle, her thin brows furrowed in concentration. She idly bit her lower lip and the action had quite a pleasant effect on his imagination. It had been some time since a woman had caught his attention so entirely and he wanted to know exactly who the culprit was.

"Excuse me a moment, gentlemen." He got up from his seat and straightened his tie, his leather shoes squeaking across the wooden floors.

"Pardon me, miss?" He gave her a crooked smile, one he knew a lot of women responded to.

She looked up, her emerald eyes clearly annoyed. "Yes?"

Rufus was a little set back at her demeanor. _Guess the smile didn't do its job._ "I don't mean to be a bother but I couldn't help but notice you were finished with the sports section of the newspaper, do you mind if I borrow it?"

"Oh." She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sure." Handing him the folded paper she went back to her crosswords.

Not even a lingering glance. "Smitten."

"Excuse me?"

"41-across." He pointed innocently to the set of boxes, giving her a sly smirk.

"Thank you." She carefully filled in the word with a blunt pencil.

"I'm Rufus Shinra, by the way." He extended a well polished hand.

She took it gingerly. "I know."

He raised an eyebrow. "So my reputation precedes me. And may I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?"

Sighing, she shook her head, smiling to herself. "It was nice meeting you, but you'll have to excuse me, sir, or I'll be late to work." Grabbing her purse, she brushed past the slightly taken aback President, leaving behind a trail of some unnamable perfume.

Biting his lip, he sauntered back to his table, shaking his head. This was definitely a first. He leaned over to his silent bodyguard. "I want you to find out who that girl is."

The guard raised his eyebrows in surprise but nodded his head in agreement. "You got it, boss." He disappeared from the café.

Never had he been so abruptly brushed off by anyone, even after she knew who he was. Other women in her position would have been falling all over themselves, but this one…he snickered to himself. She was something else. But no worries, he wasn't so easily deterred, especially not after that slight hurt to his pride.

* * *

"Special deliver to a…" the man checked the card on his clipboard, "Miss Gainsborough."

Aeris looked up from her desk in surprise. "What is this?"

The delivery man placed a large vase of flowers on the counter. "Calla lilies. Sign here."

"I know _what_ they are, who sent them?" She scribbled her name on the dotted line.

"Beats me, toots. Read the card."

She opened the small vanilla colored envelope resting against the delicate white petals.

There was nothing inside except a half-finished crossword puzzle. Looking closer at it, she saw it was the same crossword puzzle she had been working on a few days ago at the café. Sighing, she folded it back into the envelope.

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Jean!" The bright-eyed brunette waved as best she could with an armful of flowers. How she was planning to ride with this on the train she wasn't sure.

"Looks like your arms are full, miss. Do you need any help?"

She looked over at the source of the voice and studied his face, where had she seen him before? The blue suit, the stocky frame…the café.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. Thanks though." She turned abruptly hoping to put distance between herself and what could only be one of President Shinra's bodyguards. Behind her, she could hear the man's footsteps approaching her.

"I insist, ma'am. It's not safe for a woman to be walking around this late at night unprotected." He grabbed the vase from her hands, turning and placing them into the backseat of a black sedan parked a few feet away. "I'll give you a ride home, miss." He motioned to the open car door.

Aeris nervously rubbed her hands. "No, I really don't need a ride home. I have a…"

Her sentence was cut short when he reached out and tersely grabbed her arm. "Really, ma'am. I _insist_." He pulled her towards the car.

"Hey! Listen!" She tried to shake him off. "You can't force me to…"

"Get in." He unceremoniously twisted her arm behind her back, holding a crumpled handkerchief to her nose, waiting for the ether to take effect. After a few seconds he could feel her body slacken, a low moan emitting from her half-parted lips, and started to push her into the back seat, looking around him suspiciously. When he saw that the streets were deserted, he ran to the driver's seat and peeled off, leaving nothing but a dissipating trail of smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

2

The voices were getting louder and Aeris moaned in frustration and annoyance, it seemed like she could never get a good night's sleep anymore.

"Looks like she's waking up, Mr. President."

Confused, the brunette blinked heavily, trying to focus her dry eyes at the man who had spoken. For a moment she wondered why there were strange men in her room when she saw the hard yet handsome face of Rufus Shinra. Instantly she sat up with a start, her chest beating heavily, a slight sheen of sweat evident on her worried brow.

"What's going on here?" She looked around wildly, unfamiliar faces greeting her perplexed green eyes. "Who are you?"

The President leaned forward, his long unscarred hands linked together in front of him. "I thought my reputation preceded me."

"I know who _you_ are." She pointed to the others in the room. "Who are they? What am I doing here?"

"Well, after our brief conversation at the café, I was still curious to know who you were," he gave her a crooked smirk, "but seeing that you took off so quickly, I never got a chance to ask you your name."

Aeris' mouth gaped open, unbelieving. "So, you kidnap me to find out something as trivial as my name? What kind of a sick bastard are you?"

A gruff hand slapped the side of her head causing faint stars to dance in her line of sight. A beefy man with combat boots balled his fists as if to attack her again. "Watch how you speak to the President, you bitch! You better hope he spares your life after that comment."

"Kenneth, please. There won't be any need to physically harm her." He waved away the seething man who stormed off with the others to another part of the room. "You'll have to excuse Ken's outburst…he's a little rough around the edges."

Holding a hand to her swelling cheek, Aeris fought off tears. "So what is it you want from me?"

Cold stoic eyes studied the lithe girl. "I thought I told you."

Blinking in disbelief and frustration, the captured girl couldn't help but shake her head at the absurdity of her situation. "My name? Aeris."

"Aeris." He rolled the name around in his tongue like a sip of good dry wine. "Lovely."

"Is that all?"

"Are you always so straightforward, Aeris?" A hint of pleasure glimmered in his stark blue eyes.

_That bastard, he's actually enjoying this_. Aeris defiantly lifted her chin up, her mouth set in a hard line. "Are you doing this just because I wasn't falling all over myself when you approached me? Because I wouldn't even give you the time of day? I hate men like you. Men who believe they have a right to everything just because they're rich and beautiful."

Rufus raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh, you've got quite a lot to say today. Nonetheless, you're mistaken about my character; I may be 'rich and beautiful', as you say, but I don't believe I have a right to everything. Those who feel that way are cowards and don't have the decency to live life to its extremities. You see, I believe in _taking_ everything I want by any means necessary, even those things that I do not have a right to." He gave her a pointed look. "Humans, the pathetic creatures that we are, do not deserve anything in life yet we feel an entitlement to everything, hence why so many of us are failures because we are inhibited by our sense of rightful ownership." He leaned back in his seat, the hard leather creaking under his legs.

"You're…" Aeris shook her head in disbelief, tendrils of honey brown hair snaking loose from her ponytail. "So, what do you plan on doing with me now that you've gotten what you wanted 'by any means necessary'?"

Standing from his seat across the room, the brunette carefully studied the man's long lean frame. There was no mistaking the piercing blue eyes, a Shinra trademark, or the clean structured jaw, and under other circumstances, she would have thought him quite handsome. He had a youthful face, that smug smirk always finding its way to his thin lips, his wheat-colored hair was brushed back, a few wisps managing to find their way across his forehead. His body moved comfortably in his navy suit and crisp collared shirt, the silver cufflinks on his wrists catching the errant rays of light from the ceiling lamp.

He stood in front of her, close enough that she caught a whiff of his light cologne, eyeing her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Unconsciously, she shrank back into the couch she was seated on. Kneeling in front of her, he placed one of his pale hands on the seat next to her legs, leaning in slightly.

"Tell me…have you ever lived your life without any inhibitions?"

His eyes were almost hypnotizing. A slight blush stole over her cheeks as she tried to sink further into the couch, his closeness almost stifling her. "I don't know what you mean."

He let out a breathy laugh. "Hn, all of a sudden so shy now are we? What happened to that fiery little girl we saw a few minutes ago?"

Veering away from his gaze and those unnerving eyes, she bit her lower lip anxiously. Firm warm hands gripped her chin, turning her towards him again. He leaned in closer, his face mere inches from hers; she could see the slight five-o-clock shadow that was forming on his cheeks. A cruel smiled lifted the corner of his mouth.

"So tell me, Aeris. Aren't you sick of playing your role?"

"My…role?"

"The one-sided character you let yourself become." He let a long finger trace the curve of her jaw. "The role of the distressed virginal maiden…the innocent little lamb that is awaiting her knight in shining armor. Doesn't it bore you?"

Anger flared in her eyes. "Don't act like you know me!"

The President chuckled, that callous smile never leaving his face. "But I _do_ know you…I know how you are: living your life in what you think society deems is your correct role. We almost forget what it's like to be human, no? To live outside of limitations."

"You're out of your mind." She shook her head in shock, what man thought this way? There were boundaries for a reason, there had to be a baseline for society, a way to keep everything under control. To break the conventional wisdom would be promoting chaos. Yes, she was always the nurturer, the caretaker, the one who constantly looked to the optimistic twist on life, but it wasn't a _role_ she was playing…it was who she was.

"Perhaps, but it's a wonderful feeling." He gave her chin a soft shake before releasing it. "I want to help you, Aeris."

"Help me?" She couldn't help but let out a laugh, the sound startling in the quiet of the small room, this conversation was becoming more and more absurd. "Thank you but I don't need your help."

The blonde man rocked back on the balls of his feet, his arms slung across his thighs. "No, really, I want to help you. I want to help you live your life with no inhibitions. I want to bring out the _human_ in you. I want you to stay here so I can show you how to be truly free."

Reality hit her then. The President—this raving lunatic in a navy suit—had no intentions of letting her go. _What did you think was going to happen?_ Apparently wealth and fame had a price…sanity. Shuddering, Aeris wrapped her thin arms around herself.

"Please…sir…I-I don't want this. Please…just let me…" A crystalline tear rolled down her cheek. "Please."

Rufus studied the liquid with mild amusement, watching it trace wet tracks down her soft skin. Her livid green eyes were shaded behind dark charcoal eyelashes, a few errant wisps of hair blowing sporadically under the air from the vents. He impassively brushed a few of them away, finally letting his hand rest on her slight shoulders. "Aeris…"

Tentatively, she raised her head to meet his eyes. She could only see cold stoicism. In that moment, she felt completely helpless. In that moment, she knew she was a prisoner. A loud sob hitched in her throat as she buried her face in her hands and cried.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Six months.

A long six months.

Aeris stared blankly at the ceiling, noting the moving shadows with vacant eyes. It was funny how time had seemed to slow in those months, causing the days to become absolutely unbearable. She couldn't count how many times she had cried in frustration and pain and just the sheer hopelessness of her situation. It was damned near impossible to reach for the sliver of optimism now, but wasn't that his whole objective? To break her down and strip her of her spirit, of her essential _being_? He had done his job, and he had done it well.

A long arm snaked around her waist. Sighing, she tentatively turned her head to the man sleeping next to her, his breathing soft and steady. The brunette studied his face shyly, having the courage to examine his face in the dark of night, never in the light of morning. His usually composed locks were in utter disarray, his sleeping form almost peaceful…almost natural. Slowly so as not to awake him, she gingerly brushed away a few wayward strands of hair, noting how smooth his forehead felt against her cool fingers.

The arm around her waist flinched, seemingly brought to life by the contact, the fingers brushing lightly against her abdomen, inducing a slight shudder from the girl; his touch still seemed so foreign to her. Slowly, his hands started tracing their way up her ribcage, sending goosebumps along her delicate skin, stopping on one of her breasts to caress a nipple with his thumb.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing wintry blue orbs that seemed to glow in the dark room.

"Rufus…" She met his gaze timidly, his eyes still unnerved her: those emotionless eyes that revealed nothing.

He didn't reply. Instead he continued his ministrations on her erect nipple, giving it a hard pinch which elicited a sharp gasp from Aeris. Lifting his head from its resting place, he lowered it onto the crook of her neck, his lips buried in the sensitive flesh behind her ear, his hands never stopping their seductive work. He leaned his body towards hers, his knees slowly parting her legs, his hand now moving up her neck and into her flood of curls. She couldn't help the faint moan that escaped her and she wondered how such a primal sound could have come from her. Yes, she knew what he wanted and she would once again willingly give it to him.

Afterwards, they lay together, him still on top of her, almost in the fashion of lovers, although Aeris knew there was no love involved in this picture. Eventually, he rolled next to her, his eyes once again closed, his arm once again loosely around her waist.

Aeris reverted to staring at the ceiling again, this time tracing the ever-changing shadows of the city outside. Why she let herself be subjected to such degradation, she did not know. Why she craved it…well, she feared that answer. Loneliness had a part to do with it. She would rather share the bed with a man who didn't care for her than sleep alone; she scoffed. It wasn't long ago that she would have been mortified if she knew a woman who so immodestly shared her body with another man, let alone a man who saw her as a possession, but that was back then. That was when she was naïve and thought choices were either painted in black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. So what if she gave in to her selfish desires, no matter what the cost. She couldn't help but let a humorless smile touch her lips: isn't that what Rufus had told her the first day he brought her here? Yet, she couldn't help feeling ashamed at her actions, at what she was giving in to. Rufus had never taken her forcibly; she had simply given herself to him one night.

It couldn't have been more than three months ago. She clearly remembered it being a Sunday, the church bells rung in the distance as the service ended and people filed outside into the drab afternoon. Looking out the window, she placed a hand on the cold glass, over where the people stood, blocking them out of her view. For months, she had been confined to a small room with no more than a bed, a sink and a stove, the only entertainment being the four-pane window in the far left corner.

A muted knock on her door, it opened without waiting for an answer, not that she was going to give one. Rufus walked in clad in a thin gray sweater and dark slack, his polished shoes clicking on the hardwood floor. He had stopped by a few other times although he never stayed very long, only to ask a few questions and dropping off a few books for her to pass the time with. Looking around the meager room with a blank expression, he sat down on her sagging mattress, finally fixing his gaze on her.

"You look well."

"As well as a person can look in such a situation, I suppose." She mindlessly played with the ends of her hair, still staring out the window.

"There could be worse situations."

She didn't answer. What was the point in arguing?

"He picked up a book that was resting on her nightstand. "So did you like it?"

Aeris finally turned and glanced at the paperback in his hand giving him a shrug. "It was okay. A little too pessimistic if you ask me."

"Why?" He carelessly flipped through the pages, the familiar scent of old paper wafting through his senses. It reminded him of his father sitting for hours in the library, drinking and smoking cigars.

"Everyone dies in the end and the book just sorts of…shrugs its shoulders. As if saying, 'Oh well, that's how life is'." The brunette watched him finger the thin binding. "But…then again that really **is** how life is."

Rufus surprised her by smiling, a look so alien on his features, but it gave him an almost innocent boyish charm. "I never took you as a cynic."

"Apparently I'm breaking out of my 'role'." She crossed her arms, raising a delicate eyebrow.

The President's smile widened, a row of perfect white teeth greeting her, taking her off guard. "So it seems."

She saw in that instant Rufus Shinra's appeal. Him, out of his corporate suit, away from his office, sitting back against the wall, flipping mindlessly through a book…he almost looked ordinary. Was that appealing? Somehow, it was; that a tyrant was nothing more than a man, a demigod but a mere mortal. He was handsome, that much anyone could have deduced, but in that moment, in her tiny room with a book on his lap, he was fascinating.

Swallowing hard, trying to swat away the sudden onset of such girlish thirst, she sat next to him, the mattress groaning under her weight. Glancing up from the book, he gave her an inquisitive eyebrow, leaning forward in the process.

"Do you remember that day in the café? When you asked to borrow the sports section of the newspaper?" Her face had the faraway look of someone lost in the past.

He nodded, trying to read her expression.

She paused. "Do you even like sports?"

Rufus couldn't control the laugh that snaked its way out of his throat. "No."

A small smile graced her lips. "Didn't think so." Finally, she met his gaze.

Studying her features in the light of the window, he remembered why he had been so captivated by this girl. Her hair hung free from her trademark braid, waving thickly around her small frame, her skin was fair and smooth, not one blemish marking her pale complexion. But mostly it was those eyes. It was like looking into Mother Nature: green, woody, rich. If he were the type of man to fall in love, it would have been with her eyes.

"Rufus?" How anxious he was making her by staring like that.

Shaking his head to clear his inner reverie, he threw the book on her pillow, letting the pages splay over the rough material. "I'm more of a crosswords-man to be honest."

Another smile found its way to her mouth and he was unwittingly drawn to them. Full, pink lips. Inadvertently he brushed a finger across them causing Aeris to jump in astonishment; the touch had sent an invisible jolt of electricity through her. Turning towards him, she was met with a hungry gaze from the young blonde. She was both scared and intrigued, never had she seen so much emotion exhibited from the President.

Surprisingly, Aeris was the first to move. Reaching out with a shaky hand, she tentatively ran her fingers along and behind his neck, gently pulling her towards him. Involuntarily, one of his arms slid around her slender waist, the other making its way to the back of her head.

What had started out as a cautious prelude exploded into a craving the moment that their lips touched. Soon his warm tongue was in her mouth and she greedily accepted it with her own, her hands now tangling wildly in his golden hair. What had come over her she did not know, but all she cared about was satiating this unbelievable desire to be touched. Maybe it was the months of sparse human contact, or maybe the undeniable attractiveness of Rufus, or maybe it was her saying "fuck it" to her inhibitions but whatever it was, she felt she couldn't get enough of it.

Much to her dismay, he roughly pulled away from her, his forehead grazing hers, his breathing ragged and carnal. He took in her lust-glazed eyes and swollen lips, smiling at his mouth's handiwork; he didn't have to ask her…the answer was evident in her kiss.

She stated it just for his benefit. "Make me yours."


End file.
